Elderly Workers

As a person gets older, their health and ability to work may begin to decline. A 25-year-old person who was capable of working long hours for several days a week may realize that it has become increasingly more difficult to continue to work such extensive hours at the age 60 or 65. With this situation at hand, corporations might find that designing work schedules that better aid their elderly employees to be beneficial. An Ivey Business Journal titled “Accommodating Older Workers’ Needs for Flexible Work Options” by Kathleen Christensen and Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes states that a study by AARP found that “80% of baby boomers expect or want to continue working, and that the majority of them seek some sort of flexibility…” corporations should keep this statistic in mind and implement the flexibility arrangements that are being sought out (Christensen & Catsouphes, 2005). Businesses can assist older workers by creating work schedules that are pliable when it comes to full-time hours, as well as having flexibility regarding the amount of time spent working including part-time and part-year hours (Christensen & Catsouphes, 2005). A job-sharing program may also be a useful tool that …show more content…
In fact, elderly workers can offer their employers many contributions. These contributions, according to the “Elderly Workers in the Workforce” paper by Shawn Meekhof, Kim Mangliers, and Jitendra Mishra, include lower costs due to employers hiring new employees less and older workers acting as guides or mentors to the newer employees (Meekhof, Mangliers & Mishra, 2014). By staying in the workforce longer, employers can also count on the dependability and strong work ethic of an older person as they are more likely to feel the need to work later in life to pay off any financial responsibilities they may have, or perhaps save up for their dream vacation (Meekhof, Mangliers & Mishra,